“…the Kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, “Look here it is!” or “There!” for behold the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Luke 17:20-21
Jesus warns against interpreting the Kingdom as observable circumstances being fulfilled in anything but himself. (“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,” according to Revelation 19:10) The Pharisees wanted to chart out when their interpretation of OT prophecies would come to pass; but Jesus flat out tells them that the Kingdom doesn’t come that way! It is,“in the midst of you,” says Jesus. Now. He is giving the Pharisees a spiritual interpretation to their literal interpretation/questioning of the Kingdom of God. (Today that sort of exegesis gets a preacher scorned. Has much changed?)
Today this sort of answer is unsatisfactory and dismissed by many Christians because it isn’t palatable or easy way to reconcile many prophecies that were “promised”. For this reason it’s good to review Micah 4:5 in the light of what Jesus says in Matthew 11:14: “…if you are willing to accept it, [John the Baptist] is Elijah who is to come…” Jesus is advising that they must interpret this prophecy—and many like it—spiritually, in order to understand what was promised in the Old Testament. He knows this is difficult to do because it doesn’t fit our natural and formulaic way of naturally and literally interpreting His Word. *Remember, Jesus is allowed to interpret his own words and teach hermeneutics, WE DO NOT. How Jesus interprets scripture is the rule, not the exception.
Why does this matter? How does this affect Isaiah 42?
A: It will affect all the Wills of God in the text—first of which is God bringing justice to the nations. If we decide to adopt our interpretation of justice, then it naturally and literally looks more like an apocalypse! However, in God’s definition of Justice it’s depicted in the cross(.) Think about this. If divine justice is to be visited on the earth, then the earth will need to burn forever, much like unrepentant souls in hell. BUT that cannot be what God means by bringing justice—by turning earth into an eternal hell(!) Why? Because He is “making all things new” according to Revelation 21:5. THE CROSS IS WHERE DIVINE AND PERFECT JUSTICE IS FOUND. EVER.
Today, the gospel needs reviewing because we are forgetting—have been made to forget—by appealing to the understanding of eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. We are not reading the way Jesus taught his disciples.
In Entry #2, I appealed to the fact that there is a great deal of fascination with Jewish interpretation of scriptures. Jesus was never enamored with their understanding; he constantly rebuked them for not spiritually discerning these things. Should we be careful in our generation about doing the very same thing? Isn’t the human inclination to lean on our own understanding?
It bears stating that the Jewish people have interpreted much of Isaiah 42 to refer to themselves as this, “Servant of the Lord,” (according to their Targum, Rashi’s Commentary on Isaiah, Midrash, Talmudic Sources, etc.) However, they are right and wrong in their interpretation.
- They are wrong to interpret that they are the Servant of the Lord in this text. They are also wrong that God brings justice thru their nation alone.
- However, they are right that this passage is about the true and faithful Israelite. In this case it is not themselves, it isJesus. He is the only faithful and true Israelite to all the covenants made between God and man.
- Having broken down the dividing wall (Ephesians 2:14) between Jew and gentile in his own body makes God to only have one people, NOT two. The people of God are—and have only ever been—those who are justified in Christ Jesus. In this case the true people of God have only ever been His Church (spiritual Israel); that was who Jesus came to save in himself. Anyone else who says they are a Jews—the chosen people of God—are of the “synagogue of Satan” (according to Revelation 3:9).
God the Son “drank the cup” in full on that cross 2,000 years ago. He knew what He was purchasing; it was not an open purchase order. The cup had a bottom, and he drank it all, saying, “…it is finished.” (John 19:30) Just as the first Adam subjected all creation thru one act of disobedience, Jesus subjects all things to himself, thru himself, for himself, and for his people. It’s no coincidence that in Revelation 5 and Daniel 12 all the world weeps because no one can open the title deed to the earth. No one except the Lamb that was slain.
THE GOOD NEWS AND JUSTICE WORTH CARRYING TO THE NATIONS IS THIS GOSPEL: on the cross he did accomplish REAL justice. The Gospel of Jesus Christ affects everything. What Jesus says is true: “the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you [his church].” God intends to bring this Justice to the nations because he purchased it at the cross. (Is. 42:1) Bank on it. Live like it.
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